


Ghost Town

by happysarcasm



Series: andi’s mcyt fics [4]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), mcyt
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ghost Hunters, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cryptid Hunting, Demons, Family Dynamics, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Strangers to Lovers, Swearing, also dream plays the harp fuck you, andi back at it again with the crippling angst, no beta we die like tommy in the bow duel, sleepy bois are an actual family in this btw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:48:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27566290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happysarcasm/pseuds/happysarcasm
Summary: Fundy’s cousin Tubbo keeps asking him to meet up with his long time online friend Tommy, but every time he’s refused. But when Tubbo shows him a conversation about recent happenings in his town, he comprises:Tubbo gets to visit his friend for a week or two, but he has to help Fundy investigate the less-than-normal things about the ghost town.
Relationships: Clay | Dream/Floris | Fundy, Dave | Technoblade & Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit & Phil Watson, Floris | Fundy & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Floris | Fundy & Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Floris | Fundy & Wilbur Soot, Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit
Series: andi’s mcyt fics [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1905163
Comments: 32
Kudos: 160





	1. Sep. 22nd, Afternoon - Pre Investigation

**Author's Note:**

> hello! a few things:
> 
> 1: yes this is based on dreamon lore because i want MORE goddamit  
> 2: this is an irl minecraft au with some real life elements, please just don’t question it  
> 3: yes i KNOW i should update my other multichapter fics but there should be more fundywastaken on ao3 so if i cannot find content will create the content <3
> 
> anyway, enjoy!

_toob: HEU FUNDY I NEED TO TALK TO YUO WHEN I GETHOME FROM WORM IT’ S VERY IMPORTENT!! OK BYE :D  
Sent 2:34 pm_

Fundy looked down at the message Tubbo had sent him a few minutes ago and let out a long sigh. He assumed that the absurd amount of typos were due to his rushed typing while he was still on his shift, and sent a quick reply back.

 _You: 👍_  
_Sent 2:39 pm_

Knowing that he’d get back to the apartment around 5-6, he figured he may as well use his self assigned work break to make food for both of them. Lunch for himself right now, dinner for when the other got home. ‘Might as well just throw something in the furnace for now.’ he thought

The last few hadn't been relaxing at all. Fundy’s new commission, while it was absolutely worth the money he was getting, was a pain in the ass. Programming work was a hell of a lot harder when your cousin (and your own damn brain) kept bugging you about non programming related things, especially if said things were something Fundy would much rather spend his time on.

Recently, Tubbo had been very insistent on meeting up with his long time online friend. Originally Fundy didn’t mind, but realized that letting Tubbo visit his friend alone was a god awful idea, so he kept refusing Tubbo’s request for the time being.

Fundy finished making his small lunch and exited the kitchen. The small, two-bedroom apartment made it easy to just get over to the living room couch in less than 10 seconds and get back to whatever he was doing before he lost track of his own thoughts. 

His laptop had about 17 tabs open, and the one Fundy had left on was a page for a cryptid hunting forum he liked to frequent in his spare time. Even though actual investigations were only open to people living in the US, the items he found on the site often piqued his interest. He was used to hearing about small hauntings here and there and knew a concerning amount of information about typical demon or ghost encounters, but this forum had information on things he’d never even heard of.

And it wasn’t just some people looking for attention, the page itself only seemed to be used by 1,000 or so people. The more bizarre or out of the blue things were backed with actual proof; this shit was endlessly interesting.

Before he knew it, he’d eaten his lunch and spent the next three hours researching and scrolling instead of actually working. He heard the front door to the apartment slam open behind where he was sitting, and suddenly became aware of how much time he’d spent doing...relatively nothing. 

“Hello Fundy!” He heard his cousin’s voice behind him in the entrance way. He knew Tubbo was probably still energized from the walk-more likely run-home. 

Fundy turned around from his spot on the couch to look at the younger boy. “Hey Tubbo.” he greeted with lighthearted exasperation. “You doing alright over there?” He saw the other rummaging through his bundle.

Tubbo eventually pulled out his own phone from the bundle. He slung the bag over the coat hanger and rushed over to where Fundy was sitting. “Ok, don’t hurt yourself, dude.” He laughed while speaking, wondering why Tubbo was more energetic than usual. “You said there was something you wanted to talk to me about?”

The other cleared his throat before speaking “Ok, so.” Tubbo started. Fundy internally groaned, knowing right away what this conversation was about. “I know you’ve said to wait a few months at least to go see Tommy, but before you say anything—! He said something earlier during my break that I think you might wanna see.” 

Tubbo opened the messages on his phone and showed the conversation to Fundy. “Start from the top of the page, you’re gonna wanna read the whole thing for context.” He added. Fundy decided to humor him and read through.

_You: hello Tommy i am on break!!!_

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_TommyInnit: Yeah I know._

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_TommyInnit: Did you need something Tubbo_

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_You: cant i just talk to my friend when i have th free time?_

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_TommyInnit: “th free time” lulw_

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_You: SHUT UP !! >:((( you are beung mean to me _

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_TommyInnit: Try spelling better next time omegalul._

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_You: Tommy, i am Dyslexic._

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_TommyInnit: And?_

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_You: >:( _

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_TommyInnit: Anyway._

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_TommyInnit: Your cousin likes that paranormal ghost-type shit right? You’ve said he likes investigating that stuff._

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_You: yea_

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_TommyInnit: Well I think both of you would wanna hear about the kind of shit that’s been happening in my town._

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_TommyInnit: It’s frankly ridiculous, Tubbo, it’s just ridiculous._

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_You: whats going on??_

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_TommyInnit: Nothing urgent, just some really weird fucking things that’ve been happening for a good bit._

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_You: okaye_

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_TommyInnit: Well, people around my place have apparently been seeing some weird shit. I’ve heard Niki say she found an old diamond axe stuck in one of the spruce trees near the outskirts of town. She said it was nearly completely covered with dry blood that was almost flaking off, but she said she didn’t see it there the day before._

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_TommyInnit: And then just yesterday, a few more people said they saw things like weapons and ender eyes n shit._

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_You: sounds spooky_

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_You: is there anything else besides the objects?_

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_TommyInnit: Yeah. There’ve been more power outages in the past month or two than the entire time I’ve been living here, and I’ve been living here my whole life basically. It’s annoying as hell and nobody knows what’s causing it._

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_TommyInnit: People have also been randomly passing out or collapsing, but that may be due to the weather being absolutely fucking freezing._

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_You: this sounds weird as fuck_

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_TommyInnit: I KNOW RIGHT???_

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_You: do your brothers or you dad know anything about this?_

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_TommyInnit: Yeah uh, speaking of my family._

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_TommyInnit: Wilbur’s also been really paranoid or something, something’s up with him._

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_You: oh no whats goign on with wil? :(_

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_TommyInnit: Like I said, he’s been really paranoid about god knows what. He’s been telling me and Techno about ghosts and haunted shit. I don’t know if he’s bothering dad about it._

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_You: ???_

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_TommyInnit: YEAH EXACTLY!! He doesn’t act like this all the time though, sometimes he’s just. Normal. It’s confusing the shit out of me._

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_TommyInnit: I don’t know._

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[message deleted]

[message deleted]

_You: haha you have feelings smile_

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_TommyInnit: SHUT THE FUCK UP TUBBO UNDERSCORE!!!!!!_

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_You: :D_

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_You: but is it ok if i show these texts to Fundy? i think he’ll think this is intresting._

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_TommyInnit: Yeah that’s fine idc_

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_You: ok i am going 2 eat lunch now_

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_You: goodbye tommyinnit!_

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_TommyInnit: Bye Tub_

He sat staring at the last message of the conversation in utter confusion. How did these things just..happen? There’s no way this was just the cause of mobs or a singular ghost.

“So…? What do you think?” Tubbo spoke up. Fundy turned to look at his cousin and bit the inside of his cheek. Damn this kid, he knew exactly what would get him to cave. He didn’t know whether to be proud or hate him.

The older let out a long sigh. It wasn’t like they couldn’t afford a week or two trip, and Tubbo does help around the house on his own… 

Fundy cleared his throat. “I’ll tell you what, Tubbo. If you and your friend can schedule a date and time, and you pay for half of your plane ticket, then we can go, mk?” He turned toward the other.

Tubbo’s face lit up. “Uh— yeah ok! Sounds good!” He was bouncing in his seat. Fundy handed Tubbo’s phone back to him and he stood from the couch. “Thank you, Fundy!” 

He started rushing back to his room when Fundy called to him. “There’s food in the fridge for you!” 

A faint “thank you again!” was heard from the other side of the apartment. Fundy chuckled to himself and opened up his laptop, already looking for plane tickets.It then hit him that Tubbo hadn’t told him where the town was located.

Goddamn it.


	2. Sep. 27th, All Day - The Clearning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fundy and Tubbo arrive in town and meet the sbi family, in addition to Fundy meeting a new mysteriously stranger in the forest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! i loved writing this chapter, time skips are my friend. the ending scene is probably my favorite just because of how i described the place and i hope y’all like it :] enjoy!

Five days later, the two cousins were waiting in the airport for their scheduled time to hit. It was 8:45 in the morning on a Saturday, Fundy should’ve been asleep right now. But, a deal is a deal. Tubbo paid for his part of the ticket and actually set up the meeting without his help, waking up on time was the very least of his problems.

The bigger issue was how exactly he was gonna go about documenting this. And he didn’t know what this place was like or if the people were normal or anything. Needless to say he was more than a little anxious.

About 15 more minutes passed before their gate was called. Tubbo was humming to himself like he has been for the past half hour. The airport was crowded and he wasn’t sure if he packed enough and…had he even eaten anything this morning?

Fundy sighed internally. _This was gonna be a long fucking flight._

——

Eight hours of sitting on a plane can make a person restless. So when Fundy and Tubbo finally got off the plane and into another airport, they both seemed to have the same thought and went searching for a place to grab some food.

“Tommy said he and his brother were waiting near the bag pickup.” Tubbo mentioned while they were speed walking, phone in hand. “I can tell them we’re just getting something to eat first?” 

Fundy spared a glance at the shorter boy. “Yeah, yeah that’s fine.” His mind was focusing on finding some kind of pit-stop for food. 

The first spot they found was a tiny, convenience store-like place, conveniently near the bag pickup. There were a couple tables around the entrance, which the two sat down at after buying their (pre-packaged) food. 

Tubbo stares down at his phone before tugging at Fundy’s jacket sleeve to get his attention. “Tommy said that they’ll just meet us up here so that we can still eat.” 

Fundy nodded and made a sound of acknowledgement. The anxiousness was still in the back of his mind, but at least the other boy was with who Fundy assumed was an adult. That was good at least. 

The older boy tried to fill the silence. “So, are you excited to finally see Tommy in person?” He asked with a small smile.

Tubbo laughed slightly before responding. “Uh— yeah! Yeah, we’ve been friends for...fuckin— as long as I’ve been online, I guess!” He giggled again before going back to his food. Fundy hummed.

“I’m glad.” He stated simply.

It went back to a comfortable silence for a few more minutes. Tubbo was fidgeting with his sweater sleeve, assumedly waiting for his friend to show. 

They both heard a yell from the side of them. Tubbo whipped his head to the left and Fundy adjusted his gaze to where the sound came from. 

“Tubbo, over here!” Fundy saw two people walking towards their table, the shorter of the two waving at them.

“TOMMY!” Tubbo shot up from his seat and nearly sprinted towards the boy calling him. From what Fundy could see, the two almost fell onto the ground from the impact of Tubbo running into the other boy’s open arms. Fundy could hear them laughing and saying their hello’s from where he was.

Fundy stood up from his seat, taking his small carry-on bag and walking towards the group. By the time he actually got there, Tommy was introducing Tubbo to who Fundy assumed was his older brother.

His brother was..imposing, to say the least. He had long, unruly pink hair tied back in a ponytail, with a white collared shirt and gray jeans, accompanied with a long red coat with white fluff on the hood. 

Tommy himself looked like he’d been in a fight right before they arrived. A few bandages and small wounds could be seen on him, and he had a large band-aid on the left side of his face. He had what looked like an oversized jacket tied around his waist, seemingly worn out by age. His own jeans were ripped and shoes were scuffed. He just looked roughed up in general.

Fundy suddenly felt his anxiety climb rapidly in a matter of seconds.

The pink haired man turned his gaze from Tubbo to him and smiled slightly. “And I’m assuming you’re Fundy?” Fundy nodded.

“I’m Techno. I’ve been told I have to babysit the loud child here while waiting for his friend.” Techno bonked Tommy on the back of the head. Said child turned to his brother with a glare before continuing his conversation with Tubbo. 

Fundy stuck out his hand for the other to shake. “Er— it’s nice to meet you. Good to see I’m not the only adult here.” Techno let out a breathy laugh and shook his hand. Fundy glanced at Tubbo again and lightly shook his shoulder. “Tubbo, you good on food?”

Tubbo seemed to remember the abandoned food back at the table, suddenly turning to run back to their spots, Tommy following behind. 

“My god, they’re already inseparable.” Fundy heard Techno speak from behind him. He turned back to look at the other, who was staring at the two boys in amusement and slight exhaustion.

Fundy stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets and chuckled. “Yeah, yeah I wouldn’t expect anything less, really.”

——

The car ride back to Tommy and Techno’s hometown wasn’t as awkward as Fundy thought it would be. Tommy and Tubbo, as it turns out, we’re both great at keeping a conversation going in their own way.

“-All I’m saying is that robbery shouldn’t always be illegal, some situations require-“ 

“-n what situation would blackmail and robbery be required for-“

Fundy kept tuning in and out of their conversation in the back seat of the car. The screen of his laptop illuminated the dim car. A blank document was sitting in front of him, his hands hovering over the keyboard. He huffed out a breath, glancing at the clock in the car. Dim, blue numbers read 5:28 pm. 

The hands hovering over the keyboard moved to close the laptop shut. Fundy turned his head to his left and looked out the passenger side window, taking in the miles of grassland and the occasional farm houses. He knew mobs would likely start spawning soon judging by the slowly setting sun. God, he hoped that this place had good lighting.

“What about you, Fundy?” A voice from the backseat startled him out of his thoughts. He halfway turned to speak to the boys more clearly. 

“Uh, sorry guys, I didn’t catch the question, got kinda zoned out. What’d you say?” He rubbed at the back of his neck.

Tubbo stifled a laugh before answering. “I asked how would you feel if Tommy helped us with the searching?” He lightly tapped Fundy on the forehead with his palm. 

Fundy swatted his cousin’s hand away, hanging onto something Tubbo had implied in passing. “Help us?” He narrowed his eyes at the two of them in confusion. He had assumed he would be doing this alone while Tubbo just..had a fun time with his friend.

A look of surprise crossed Tubbo’s face before backtracking. “Oh, I just assumed that I was gonna..help?” Fundy silently urged him to elaborate. “I- I mean with the sudden visit and you having to come with me I just assumed that you’d need some extra help.” Tubbo kept flicking his eyes from Fundy to the floor of the car.

There was a small silence before Fundy chuckled to himself. “You guys don’t have to help me, don’t feel obligated to take part in this just because it’s not as convenient as possible.” He turned more in his seat and reached out to ruffle Tubbo’s hair. “You’re a good kid, I don’t need compensation just for being here. Besides, I..think I needed to get out of the house anyway.”

Tubbo held a confused smile on his face, his mood seeming to have improved. “But we can still help if we want to…?” The way Tubbo worded the question sounded unsure.

“Yes, you guys can still help if you want to. Just don’t spend the whole time focusing on paranormal shit, ok?” Fundy heard Techno snort at the word paranormal and chose to ignore it. “Have fun while we’re here.” With one last smile, he turned back to face the front of the vehicle.

The two in the backseat went back to their conversation, quieter this time. It felt almost peaceful for the first time since they’ve landed. Just peaceful and chill and relaxed, god, Fundy missed being able to relax. 

He hadn’t even realized he closed his eyes before they opened, and he could see the world again. Well, what little he actually could see of it from his limited view.

The sun was slightly lower over the horizon now, the few street lights lining the road having gone off at the signal that night was arriving soon. Blue numbers read 7:16 pm.

“We’re almost back, so if the jet lag is too much for you to stay awake then there’s only a few more minutes. Then you can pass out wherever.” Fundy assumed Techno’s words were directed at him, as the two boys were eerily quiet behind them, most likely asleep.

“Oh, thank you..” Fundy sluggishly answered. He assumed he had been drifting in and out of consciousness. He felt heavy and weightless at the same time, not an unfamiliar feeling in the slightest. “Your town has like, a hotel or something, right?” Fundy stretched his arms out in front of him, peering at Techno out of the corner of his eye.

Techno shot him a quick look of amusement and a hint of confusion. “You’re not paying for a hotel on your first night here, nerd.” A breathy laugh escaped him. “Tommy and Wil still live with dad, my old room is apparently being used for guests now. He’d let you stay at least tonight for sure.”

Fundy hesitated. Staying even for one night in a stranger’s house didn’t sound exactly ideal. If anything, it sounded the exact fucking opposite of what he considered ideal. But there’s no way this kid and his family were any real danger right? Tubbo’s been friends with him for literal years, and they haven’t done anything to hurt them yet, so…

“Thanks. I’ll consider it.”

Techno nodded, and they both had their eyes back on the endless looking road.

——

Techno helped Fundy and the two barely awake teenagers take their bag inside the family’s home. Two men sat on the L-shaped couch in the middle of the living room, one of them curled into himself with his knees to his chest, wearing a gray beanie, a loose-fitting yellow sweater and black sweats. 

His eyes immediately locked into Fundy. It was like he were seeing straight through him, as if he were transparent; invisible. 

The other man-suited with a green and white hate, dark green overcoat, white jeans and black t-shirt-stood from the couch to greet them. 

“Techno, Tommy!” The man ambled over to the brothers, ruffling the blonde’s hair and enveloping the older in a hug. 

“Oh uh— hi dad.” Techno laughed through his words, returning the hug. “Wilbur.” He gave a curt nod at who Fundy clocked as the other brother. “Wilbur” shifted his gaze from the group of them to the nearby wall. If Fundy too a closer look, he could almost see how prominent the bags under his eyes were.

The oldest released Techno from the embrace and turned his attention towards Fundy and Tubbo. His small, warm smile gave Fundy a feeling of comfort, easing a portion of his worries about the trip. 

“Hi! I’m assuming you’re Tubbo,” he glanced at the teenager. “and Fundy. I’m Phil, I take care of these children, reluctantly.” Phil has an obvious joking tone to his voice, and he hears Tommy mumble a quiet “shut up” to the man.

Fundy quietly chuckled before responding. “Yeah, I’m Fundy. Good to meet you.” He stuck his hand out for Phil to shake like he had with Techno at the airport. The other’s small smile never left as they shook hands and as he introduced him to his other son Wilbur, and even as he left the two cousins to unpack their things in the guest bedroom.

Tubbo almost immediately crashed as he finished unpacking. He was still in day clothes, but Fundy couldn’t blame him, he felt worn out too. But soon enough, he found that getting sleep would be a struggle in itself.

He tried browsing social media, listening to podcasts, forums, mostly everything he could think of. Eventually deciding to visit a place he’d heard of in this town from Tommy in the car ride, a place in the forest surrounding the edges of the quaint town. 

“Not a lot of people go there anymore, really. There’s only one or two people who ever go regularly, the founders of the whole place. Nobody knows what they do with it, but every time I go it’s usually completely deserted.” Tommy had rambled on about some clearing in the spruce wood. 

Fundy hopped out of bed, a spare lantern, his phone, and laptop encased in the bag slung over his shoulder. Slipping on his black patterned jacket and leaving his hat, he tried slipping quietly out of the house without waking anyone. 

Apparently, Wilbur had also been awake at this time and was sitting on the opposite end of the couch from where he had been hours ago. 

“Where are you going?” Came the quiet voice of Wilbur, staring directly at Fundy from his position at the bottom of the staircase. Fundy froze, eyeing the man with confusion.

“...Have you been on the couch the whole time?” Wilbur laughed quietly at his question, a low, almost _eerie_ sound that nearly made Fundy shiver. 

“You didn’t answer my question. Where’re you going?” He tilted his head ever so slightly, his skin almost looking gray in the dark light.

Fundy cleared his throat. “Tommy said something about a..clearing in the forest? I just wanted to see it for myself, I couldn’t really fall asleep.” 

Wilbur’s smile made him feel uneasy. “Oh, that old thing?” he snorted. “Good luck finding it. The path is lit by soul torches, so you’d have a rough time even finding the path to the damn thing. I’m sure he told you this already, but there’s probably nothing there anyway. Practically abandoned.” He looked to the door, the same smirk on his face.

Fundy just nodded. “Yeah, I’m just. Curious, y’know? Can’t leave things unseen if they catch my interest.” He responded, wanting to leave as soon as possible, being creeped out by the other’s behavior. He didn’t know why, he’d certainly encountered much more disturbing and creepy people before.

Just before opening the wooden door, Wilbur spoke up again, quieter this time. “The curious type, hmm?” He asked with an amused tone in his voice. “Well, I’d try and be careful, y’know? You never know what could happen, or what you may find.” The gaze boring into Fundy made him more uneasy, almost fearful, as he only nervously opened and slammed the door behind him.

As he walked down the small sidewalk, Fundy noticed bits of glowstone embedded in the road and the concrete. It illuminated the surrounding cars, buildings, and landmarks beautifully, the yellow bathing the normally dull looking objects in light from below. It wasn’t anything that special, but Fundy had a sort of appreciation for good lighting, even if it was unintended.

He followed the illuminated path toward where Tommy had said it would be, off the corner of a small bakery. The dirt crunched beneath his feet as he tried searching for blue light among the normal torches set up to keep mobs away. 

He only just barely saw the sliver of blue from a space between the trees in his line of sight. Rushing over to the space, he saw a podzol line reaching into the depths of the spruce forest, lined with the same soul torches along the trees and ground. Fundy looked up into the treetops, praying that the light from the torches and his lantern was enough for him not to get attacked. He was glad he ate before booking it into the woods.

The path, as it turns out, wasn’t as long as Fundy thought. He reached the supposed destination in a little less than a minute, spotting the familiar yellow and orange of more lanterns. Catching his breath, he slowly stored away his own light and crept up toward the circular clearing.

Spare moonlight peaked between the branches of trees, making the whole scene breathtaking. Lanterns hung from branches here and there, with small decor set up along the sides. Wooden benches, carpet, a jukebox, an ender chest, and other miscellaneous items scattered around the fairly sized are.

But the thing that really caught his eye was a person sitting on one of the carved benches, facing Fundy’s right. Their hair was tied back in a small ponytail, a dark green cloak clasped over a black turtleneck with ripped blue jeans that almost looked black in the light, and a pure white mask-save for the smiley face that looked drawn onto it-covering their entire face. Fingerless gloved hands played at a small harp, a haunting melody now making itself known, the sound bouncing off the trees. 

_‘Wow.’_ Fundy thought to himself. He doesn’t remember a time where he’s ever been rendered entirely speechless.

The person’s head snapped over to him, the tune on the harp quickly stopping. Did he say that out loud? Shit.

Fundy forced down the flush creeping up his face before clearing his throat. “Uh— hello! I’m sorry if I intruded on something, I just wanted to check this place out.” He grabbed his left arm in embarrassment.

To Fundy’s surprised, the other chucked. “It- it’s fine. I just really wasn’t expecting anyone to show. Nobody really comes here anymore.” The stranger stood from his spot on the bench, walking over to where Fundy stood with light steps.

Can he even see through that thing? Fundy decided not to think about the question too much before he drove himself crazy.

The stranger seemed to inspect Fundy. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around here, or in town for that matter. New resident?” He leaned back away from Fundy, crossing his arms over his chest casually.

“Oh, no, I’m just visiting. Only about three weeks though, so I wanna see everything about this town before I leave. Vacation, y’know?” It wasn’t entirely untrue, but he didn’t feel like telling this complete stranger about his life story.

The man laughed again. “We don’t usually get many visitors around here. You’re the first in a while.” He tilted his head to the side, somehow looking lost in thought, even with the mask. “Say, what’s your name by the way.”

Against his better judgement, Fundy gave the stranger his name. “Uh, Fundy. What about you?” Fundy didn’t put his hand out to shake this time.

“You can call me Dream for now.” His tone was lighter, pleased with the new information.

Dream. What a strange name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact, come little children started playing on my spotify while writing the forest scene and that was a whole vibe. also this au dream plays the harp fuck u


	3. Sep. 28th, Early Morning - Notable Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A talk in the forest isn’t what you want to be having at 4 in the morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! i apologize for the shorter chapter, i wanted to get this out before christmas so some things i wanted to put in here got cut out 😔 but the next update is gonna be a Large boy so pogchamp amirite? enjoy!

Dream motioned for him to move farther into the clearing. Fundy obliged, taking small glances at their surroundings. 

Fundy felt uneasy staying in the clearing. Who was this guy, anyway? What did he want from Fundy? And why was he _listening_ to him?

“So…” Fundy drew out the vowel. “what exactly is this place anyway? Everyone I’ve talked to here said it was abandoned.” He chuckled, trying not to let the nervousness slip through his voice. The taller man only sat down in his previous spot on one of the cracked benches. 

Dream sighed, picking the harp off of the ground. He plucked at the strings absentmindedly, seemingly thinking of a response to the other’s question. 

“Uhm..it used to be a somewhat...popular spot for the citizens to visit in their free time.” Dream’s voice was kept monotone and slow, forming his answer with caution. “But, at some point, people just...abandoned it. Less and less visitors came to this place overtime, eventually spreading to the entire town too.” Dream left the explanation there, turning his head from the harp back to Fundy.

The frigid cold was quickly becoming noticeable to Fundy, pulling his jacket further around himself and silently cursing himself for wearing leather. “So it's just, what, an abandoned tourist attraction?” Fundy sat down on the brittle spruce bench next to the other. There’s no way that “the people lost interest” was the only reason it was abandoned, right?

Something in Dream’s phrasing caught Fundy’s attention. “What do you mean by it spread to the entire town?” Fundy stared up at Dream, the piercing white mask staring right through him. 

There was a passing beat where the wind picked up speed and the lanterns shook from their positions hung from the branches. Fundy swore he could hear the echo of wind chimes through the trees when he looked around the circular space, taunting him with another quiet tune. 

It wasn’t anything like the song Dream had been playing minutes before. The chimes made him feel..lost. It made Fundy aware of how unfamiliar this forest— this town was. It reminded him that Dream was still a complete stranger, hell, Fundy didn’t even know if this guy lived here. Why was he still sitting here out in the fucking cold with a _stranger_ with unknown intentions? Had he already gone crazy?

But just as sudden as the fleeting moment arrived, it passed with the rising of Dream’s voice.

“Well, it could’ve been a lot of reasons why the neighborhood stopped having visitors. I personally clocked it to be this whole place. The forest, I mean.” Dream gestured with his hands vaguely, looking to the dark trees and path that had led him here in the first place.

Fundy sighed internally. _It’s for the investigation_ , he thought to himself.

“Well—“ Fundy shivered again, still well aware of the early morning weather. “it’s been interesting talking to you, Dream. I’m sure I’ll see you another time while I’m here.” He rose from the bench and picked up his bag with the unused laptop and pulled out his phone to check the time. The bright white letters flashed 4:39 am back at him.

Dream laughed, barely audible this time. “Yeah, I’m sure I’ll see you around again. Who knows, maybe we’ll meet up here if you ever decide to come back?” He phrased it like a question and Fundy swore he heard the smirk in the other’s voice. 

“Yeah..maybe.” Another pause. “Well...c’ya!” Fundy flashed a smile at Dream as he made his way back to the dim path, his own newly lit lantern in hand. He saw Dream wave at him before completely turning his back on the other. He took all of a few steps back into the wood before hearing another faint call from behind him. 

“Have fun with your investigation, little traveler!”

Fundy stopped cold. He hadn’t told Dream about his actual reasoning for coming here. He was sure of that. But there was no conceivable way that Dream pulled that answer from nowhere. How did he know. How did he **know**?

The brunette risked a look back at the other. If Dream noticed that he’d stopped, he didn’t point it out, instead going right back to his instrument. The same melody from before rang and bounced off of the trees once more, the song burying itself in Fundy’s memory. 

Turning around, Fundy sped out of the forest, borderline sprinting down the path and luckily finding the actual way out. Catching his breath took longer than it should’ve, the running and the feeling of being watched and the dread were certainly a deadly combo to his physical health at that moment.

He was met with the glowing streets once again, the moon staring down at him from its position in the vast sky. Fundy sucked in a breath, slowly and deliberately mapping out his steps to take him back to the house, catching every bit of engraved glowstone in the ground beneath him that felt so far away.

 _‘For the investigation’_ he assured himself.

Making it back to the family’s home was a bigger deal than it should’ve been, but Fundy made it back in one piece, so he considered it a win.

The door made a tiny creaking sound when it opened, not surprising him in the slightest. He peered into the living room, glad to see that Wilbur wasn’t on the couch anymore and Fundy could race up to the guest bedroom without any worry of sudden questioning.

Fundy shut the door to the room with a tiny thud when it fully closed. Pulling off his jacket, he decided that the clothes he was wearing were fine enough to sleep in, or at least lay down in. He might not be getting sleep anytime today.

Setting his bag down over the back of a chair, Fundy fell back on the old mattress, staring at the wooden ceiling and going over his encounter with the mysterious forest stranger. The question playing on repeat in his mind was How?

How did Fundy find him there in the first place? How lucky did he have to be? How did that melody burn into Fundy’s memory already? How did Dream come off as do welcoming and so distant at the same time? How well was Fundy equipped to handle this? How did Dream _know_ so much?

Fundy turned on his side, facing the blank wall. These questions were for another time, and for a future him that was more aware, more present. More willing to deal with...all of this. A single reason to continue was all Fundy needed at this point in time.

 _’For the investigation’_ he lied to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *points at dream* gay

**Author's Note:**

> according to ao3 statistics, only a small percentage of readers actually leave a comment- *gets shot*


End file.
